Following on the heels of the acquittal of Casey Anthony and the murder of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky in Brooklyn, the Senate GOP majority is introducing a bill that would establish separate felonies or increase punishments for certain types of crimes against children. They’re calling it the Protect Our Children Act.

One of the sponsors, Sen. Andrew Lanza of Staten Island, announced his intention to introduce “Caylee’s Law” — establishing a felony for failing to alert law enforcement about a missing child — last week. This bill absorbs that measure.

Commenting on Casey Anthony in the accompanying press release, most of the co-sponsoring lawmakers quoted in the press release find it sufficient to say that the case points up the need for stiffer penalties for the failure to report a child’s disappearance. Greg Ball, however, goes much farther:

“ … While I have the utmost respect for our justice system and the right to due process, it’s unthinkable that Casey Anthony would get off with anything less than the death penalty. The outcome made most people shake their heads with disbelief and disgust, knowing that some wait on death row having been rightfully convicted with much less evidence. To think she knew of her daughter’s death and never told police, while having enough time to party the night away, lie to authorities and frequent tattoo parlors, is enough to make any caring person sick.”

Ball’s spokeswoman Ali Skinner said that Ball’s “some wait on death row having been rightfully convicted with much less evidence” was a reference to the case of Scott Peterson, who awaits lethal injection in San Quentin six years after his conviction for the murder of his wife Laci.

The Senate GOP press office says the measure has the support of the conference as well as the four Independent Democrats.

Here’s the full press release:

In the wake of Caylee Anthony’s tragic murder case and the murder of
eight-year-old Leiby Kletzky in Brooklyn, legislation has been introduced
in the New York State Senate that would make sweeping, comprehensive
changes to the state’s child protection laws to help protect children from
cruel and repeated abuse.

“The entire nation was shocked at the brutal murder of Leiby Kletzky
and outraged by the acquittal of Casey Anthony,” Senate Majority Leader
Dean G. Skelos said. “With this measure, we have carefully crafted a
comprehensive bill that would fix the shortcomings of state law to ensure
that children are protected and perpetrators are appropriately punished.
It goes much further than bills introduced in other states that just
address the failure to report missing children.”

“What we witnessed in the case of the death of Caylee Anthony was
tragic,” Senator Grisanti said. “By placing a law on the books requiring
parents and guardians to report missing children who are in significant
danger in a timely manner, we will ensure for the future that parents are
going to be held accountable for their actions. It will also assure that we
put justice on the side of those among us who are most vulnerable,
particularly young children.”

“Any crime committed against a child is abhorrent, but it is
profoundly tragic when that crime is committed at the hands of those who
should be their guardians and protectors,” stated Senator Steve Saland.
“This legislation would ensure that prosecutors have the tools to ensure
justice for tragic cases like Caylee Anthony or any child who suffers while
in the care of someone they trust.”

“The tragic deaths of Leiby Kletzky and Caylee Anthony illustrate the
need to strengthen our laws to protect children. In wake of the Caylee
Anthony case, like many New Yorkers, I was shocked to learn that it is not
a felony to fail to report your child missing,” said Senator Lanza. “When a
child goes missing there is no legitimate reason not to report it. It is a
well established fact that when dealing with a missing child case every
moment of delay weighs negatively in the life or death outcome. It is
inconceivable and dangerous that a parent or guardian would not immediately
report to the authorities when their child goes missing. Not doing so
should be a serious crime and this legislation would do just that in the
State of New York.”

“We are all shocked and saddened by the outcome of the Casey Anthony
trial,” said Senator Greg Ball. “And while I have the utmost respect for
our justice system and the right to due process, it’s unthinkable that
Casey Anthony would get off with anything less than the death penalty. The
outcome made most people shake their heads with disbelief and disgust,
knowing that some wait on death row having been rightfully convicted with
much less evidence. To think she knew of her daughter’s death and never
told police, while having enough time to party the night away, lie to
authorities and frequent tattoo parlors, is enough to make any caring
person sick,” added Ball.

“As a parent, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect my
children’s safety. As a legislator, it’s unthinkable that current state law
allows parents who don’t report their child missing or obstruct efforts to
find a missing child to escape felony charges. Making these crimes
felonies, as well as raising penalties for those who abuse and harm
children, are common-sense steps to protect children and give law
enforcement stronger tools to bring individuals who target children to
justice,” Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R-Merrick).

Among the more than two dozen provisions of this legislation, the
Protect Our Children Act would create the new crime of aggravated murder of
a child with a sentence of life without parole.

In addition, the bill would expand an existing law of aggravated
abuse of a child which makes it a crime when someone recklessly causes
physical injury to a child under the age of 14. The law currently applies
only to day care providers, but this bill would expand it to also apply to
parents, guardians or a person in a position of trust.

Other provisions of the bill would:

> Create a new felony for concealing the death of a child. A death of
a child is profoundly tragic, and the concealment of such not only could
interfere with the prosecution of the one responsible for the death by loss
of evidence, but could also prolong the agony of the family as they search
for their loved one with misplaced hope;

> Create a new felony for failing to notify law enforcement when the
whereabouts of a young child is unknown for more than 24 hours;

> Create new felony offenses for obstructing the location of a
missing child;

> Create a felony child endangering statute to protect children from
especially cruel and sadistic conduct. Under current law, unless physical
injury results, the infliction on children of sadistic, painful, dangerous
punishments can typically be charged only as misdemeanors;

> Create a statute to protect children from serious reckless abuse.
To the extent existing laws address reckless conduct, they minimize the
seriousness by treating it as a low level offense or often include the
requirement that the conduct be “depraved,” an element that New York courts
have in recent years interpreted in a way that is extremely difficult to
prove; and

About Capitol Confidential

Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.